Alabama ranks fourth from last in satisfaction with the standard of living, according to a year-long Gallup poll released this week. West Virginia finished a distant last.

But it's unusual list, as Alaska finished highest in the nation, followed by North Dakota, Hawaii, Washington D.C. and Nebraska. And the bottom of the list was not the usual collection of neighboring states, as Alabama beat out Maine and Rhode Island.

Pollsters, interviewing at least 500 residents in each state in 2013, merged results from just two questions. Are you satisfied with the current standard of living? Is it getting better?

In Alabama, 74 percent were satisfied in 2013, but just half said things were getting better. For contrast, 84 percent in Alaska were satisfied and 61 percent said conditions were improving.

Alabama tied Missouri, North Carolina, Kentucky and Pennsylvania for a relatively dim outlook.

Gallup wrote that the results seem to track closely with ratings on economic confidence and job creation. "For Alaskans,
however, these perceptions might be irrelevant toward their views on their
standard of living," reads the Gallup analysis, "as their lives are virtually untaxed by their state
government and they are removed from the fast pace of the continental U.S."

Vermont saw the largest gains in satisfaction from 2012 to 2013. Interestingly, all states saw some increase or held stable. Only Washington D.C. saw a drop in ratings of standard living from 2012 to 2013.